Taking the bike

[Hornet3D]

Well after a lot of measuring and reading endless reviews I have managed to do what I suspected was impossible,  I now have two bikes I can get into the back if an Aygo at the same time.  Of course the bikes are the folding type and the rear seats have to go down but I can get two 20" wheel bikes, plus helmets, a boot tidy box (now between the front and back seats), pannier bags for each bike and still enough room to get a carrier bag of shopping in.  I have to admit that, even with careful measuring it was a lot tighter than I thought so much so I wondered if it could be done at all at one point.  Having got them in and out a few times now I seem to have found the technique.

Being careful with placement I have managed to add a basic bike computer (GPS so there are no cables, sensors or magnets involved) and LED lights to each bike even though there is also a twist lever for the seven speed gears and a bell already attached the the handlebars. 

[Dave the aygo]

Well done to get two bikes in👍

[Hornet3D]

A lot of the research was trying to find a bike that would fold small enough and didn't have horror stories of the bike trying to fold itself while riding.

[Guest]

Love to see a photo of the bikes and all the gear in your Aygo.

 

Which bike do you go for?

[RUToyota]

Well done..!

We have two Viking Hiko electric folding bikes..20" wheels...but have a rather easier job than you in that we have an Estima MPV which swallows them pretty easily.

You've done very well to get them into an Aygo.

[dartrader1997]

We were hoping to get two 20inch folding electric bikes in the rear of ours but it's just not an option. Although they will phyisically go in through the hatch their weight is too much to lift through without the possibility of damage to either the car, bikes or my back. They weigh 21kg each and the opening through the hatch is too tight to guide them through with any precision due to the weight. If I had another person to help then maybe it could be done without any damage but my wife is disabled and can't lift. We are now considering a rear carrier that mounts on a towbar as a towbar is available for this purpose only, not approved to tow trailer as you all probably know.

[RUToyota]

4 minutes ago, dartrader1997 said:

We were hoping to get two 20inch folding electric bikes in the rear of ours but it's just not an option. Although they will phyisically go in through the hatch their weight is too much to lift through without the possibility of damage to either the car, bikes or my back. They weigh 21kg each and the opening through the hatch is too tight to guide them through with any precision due to the weight. If I had another person to help then maybe it could be done without any damage but my wife is disabled and can't lift. We are now considering a rear carrier that mounts on a towbar as a towbar is available for this purpose only, not approved to tow trailer as you all probably know.

I think that's your best option tbh...you are right in that the leccy folders are quite heavy and although I'm "getting on" I do have a younger fit wife to help...lol

[paulc1976]

I've got a westfalia towbar on my 2014 mk2 aygo with 13 pin electrics fitted. Works well with my Thule easyfold xt towbar rack and I can fold that up and put it in the boot when out on the bikes. I can get 2 29er/700c bikes (mid drive conversions) on it. It does make the back end sag with the weight so I use rubber spring spacers in the suspension springs to increase the ride height at the back.

The car will be gone by the end of the year with new Yaris mk4 so will look for a similar solution for once I get the car.

[Hornet3D]

1 hour ago, dartrader1997 said:

We were hoping to get two 20inch folding electric bikes in the rear of ours but it's just not an option. Although they will phyisically go in through the hatch their weight is too much to lift through without the possibility of damage to either the car, bikes or my back. They weigh 21kg each and the opening through the hatch is too tight to guide them through with any precision due to the weight. If I had another person to help then maybe it could be done without any damage but my wife is disabled and can't lift. We are now considering a rear carrier that mounts on a towbar as a towbar is available for this purpose only, not approved to tow trailer as you all probably know.

Dropping the electrics does help as the weight goes down to 12Kg but still quite a lift over the high boot opening.

[Hornet3D]

2 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Love to see a photo of the bikes and all the gear in your Aygo.

 

Which bike do you go for?

Went for these were a few negative reviews but then there always is and you don't know how the bikes were treated.  Overall the comments and reviews were positive.

For my wife

20 Inch Folding Bicycle Just £305.99 ! | Free UK Next Day Delivery | Ecosmo (panlova.com)

For me

Folding Bicycle (20" Wheel) Just £305.99 ! | Free Next Day Delivery | Ecosmo (panlova.com)

 

We have carry bags for them both, not that I would carry them very far, but it goes some way to protecting the both the bikes and the car.  When loaded they just look like two black blobs, so give me a day or so and I will upload photos of them loaded, in and out of the bags.

 

 

[Hornet3D]

1 hour ago, RUToyota said:

Well done..!

We have two Viking Hiko electric folding bikes..20" wheels...but have a rather easier job than you in that we have an Estima MPV which swallows them pretty easily.

You've done very well to get them into an Aygo.

Up until recently it was not a problem because we had a Honda CRV bit I doubt I could gel one bike in the Aygo unless it was a folding bike.

Still at least I have two full bikes to be lifted on eBay in the next few days.

 

[Hornet3D]

13 hours ago, Dave the aygo said:

Well done to get two bikes in👍

Thanks, I was rather pleased when it worked out as it was a lt of money to spend for it to fail.

[Cyker]

Well at least you can save money at the gym and get some big beefy arms!  

[Hornet3D]

6 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Love to see a photo of the bikes and all the gear in your Aygo.

 

Which bike do you go for?

OK here goes, the only prep for taking the bikes is the boot tidy, holding the usual mobile tyre pump, bottle of oil, anti freeze, torch, hand cleaner and roll of kitchen towel, is moved behind the front passenger seat and the seats are folded down.

Once the bikes are loaded there is enough space to store the pannier rack bags and room for a carrier bag of shopping to the left of the bikes.  There is still more room behind the front seats to put more and the helmets we put below the rear seat back behind the drivers seat.

[davidif]

We regularly put 2 Brompton’s in the back of our Aygo  with quite a bit of room to spare.  
 

[Hornet3D]

1 hour ago, davidif said:

We regularly put 2 Brompton’s in the back of our Aygo  with quite a bit of room to spare.  
 

We did look at the Bromptons they look fantastic and I imagine you have a lot more room left than we have.  Sadly the Bromptons were way out of our price range.

[davidif]

32 minutes ago, Hornet3D said:

We did look at the Bromptons they look fantastic and I imagine you have a lot more room left than we have.  Sadly the Bromptons were way out of our price range.

Yes very pricey although I’ve had one for well over 10 years and it’s still in perfect shape. So a well designed and made product. 
I’m considering an E-Brompton but at nearly £3k it won’t be a rushed decision  🤔

[Cyker]

My 2nd Mk1 Yaris D4D was £3k!!!  

 

 

[davidif]

37 minutes ago, Cyker said:

My 2nd Mk1 Yaris D4D was £3k!!!  

 

 

That’s some inflation!

[Hybrid21]

2 hours ago, davidif said:

Yes very pricey although I’ve had one for well over 10 years and it’s still in perfect shape. So a well designed and made product. 
I’m considering an E-Brompton but at nearly £3k it won’t be a rushed decision  🤔

Quite a few bad reviews on the e-brompton David. Seems that they have a few issues with the electrics.

[Hornet3D]

2 hours ago, Hybrid21 said:

Quite a few bad reviews on the e-brompton David. Seems that they have a few issues with the electrics.

If that is true they really need to sort it as there are some really good quality E-Bikes selling for a lot less.  

[Hybrid21]

7 hours ago, Hornet3D said:

If that is true they really need to sort it as there are some really good quality E-Bikes selling for a lot less.  

Agree, both my wife and myself have had our Giant e-bikes for a few years with no problems 👍

I have fancied a Brompton, not and e-bike just the normal for a couple of years and have been keeping my eye on the models.

The pandemic thwarted my plans a wee bit, but still interested.

 

 

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Hornet3D said:

OK here goes, the only prep for taking the bikes is the boot tidy, holding the usual mobile tyre pump, bottle of oil, anti freeze, torch, hand cleaner and roll of kitchen towel, is moved behind the front passenger seat and the seats are folded down.

Once the bikes are loaded there is enough space to store the pannier rack bags and room for a carrier bag of shopping to the left of the bikes.  There is still more room behind the front seats to put more and the helmets we put below the rear seat back behind the drivers seat.

Thanks, that's really helpful - thinking about investing in folding bikes but was uncertain about how I could take them with me on trips.

[rich146]

Ive recently purchased an ADO A20F folding Ebike of which should fit still albeit a fat tyre bike.

[Hornet3D]

4 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Thanks, that's really helpful - thinking about investing in folding bikes but was uncertain about how I could take them with me on trips.

You are more than welcome.  I know from my experience that measuring up to see if something fits in the back of the Aygo is the simple part, working out if it will go through the boot opening is another thing entirely.  With the bikes we have the rear end is slightly too tall as the rear of the rack on the rear comes up against the rubber seal but it is only about and inch at most.  Tilting the bike to one side slightly means it clears it without fuss.  Even with one bike in there is still room to tilt the second as long as the first bike is pushed to one side.

Of course it will vary from bike to bike but you can glean the measurements of our bikes from the links, they are also on Amazon if you search but they want £9 delivery while Panlova offer free next day delivery.  Either site will give you the measurements of the bikes folded so that should give you a head start when you start looking for something that grabs you.